Adana Kebabs

Adana Kebab is very famous Turkish kebab, comes from the city of Adana in south Turkey.

500 gr ground lamb meat
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne
sea salt
turkish flat bread (flat pita, lavash or flour tortilla)
For garnish
1 red onion, sliced
1 tablespoon sumac
1 cup fresh italian parsley finely chopped
sea salt

Combine the ground lamb, paprika, cayenne and sea salt in a large bowl and knead for a 6 minutes, all the ingredients are mixed very well. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour to bring out the flavors. Then soak the flat wooden skewers for 20 minutes prior to cooking the Adana kebab. Make a long patty to put on the flat wooden skewers or ( divide the minced meat into four equal sized, rectangle shaped kebabs.)
Three ways the cook the meats,
1-) over a grill ( 6-8 minutes cooking times on the grill, turning meat over every 2-3 minutes)
2-) sautee in a pan ( bring large (12"-14") sautee pan to high heat and add a touch of cooking oil before placing meat. same cooking time the grill)
3-) in a broiler ( put into the metal pan and same cooking time the grill)

For garnish, red onion, sumac, parsley and salt put in the large bowl, mix it up nicely.

And serve them on the lavash or flat pita or flour tortilla . The idea is for everyone to garnish their own kebabs with an onion, sumac and parsley (soğanlı sumak salatası) salad.

Köfte with cumin (meatball)

500 gr minced meat
2 tablespoons brade crumps
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
Combine the meat, crumps, garlic, onion, cumin, paprika, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Knead well at least 5-6 minutes. Take pieces the size of a walnut. Roll between palms to round it off and press lightly. Grill over charcoal fire balls (or oven) If you want, you can serve with pasta.

White beans salad (piyaz)

White beans salad is very popular salad dish in Turkey, and is often served with köfte.

540 ml canned white kidney beans, washed and rinsed
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 long green peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tomato, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup fresh italian parsley finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar or lemon
sea salt
black pepper
4 pepper pickles or goat feta cheese for garnish

Put the beans and other ingredients in a large bowl, then add the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and black pepper, mix gently. Serve garnished with pepper pickles or goat feta cheese.

Sheppard's roll with feta cheese (SIKMA)

Easy and quick to prepare, serve these as a light meal.

180 gr macedonien feta cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons chopped italian parsley
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 teaspoon chopped mint
2 tablespoons seeded and diced tomatoes (optional)
homemade flat bread (basic non yeast dough)
unsalted butter

Mix the feta cheese, parsley, green onions, mint and tomatoes (tomatoes optional) together. Season with salt. Spread the homemade flatbread that is cooked on stove top, with butter and cheese mixture. Roll up each flatbread as tightly as possible. Cut each wrap diagonally into 6 or 7 pieces and serve. Enjoy!

Turkish spoon salad, ezme salad

Very favorite Turkish salad. Serve it with T bone, ribs, steak, chops and kebabs.

3 tomatoes skinned and finely diced
1 red pepper seeded and finely diced
1/2 english cucumber or 1 lebanese cucumber finely diced
1medium red onion peeled and finely diced
3 tablespoons italian parsley finely chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste (my prefer is hot Turkish red pepper paste)
1 teaspoon red - wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
lemon slice for garnish (optional)

Place the finely diced tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, onion and chopped parsley on a large chopping board. Then use sharp, large knife to chop them all together to fine dice. Scrape into a large bowl, then add the wine vinegar, olive oil, paste, salt and black pepper. Stir throughly and leave for 30 minutes to macerate.

Roasted red peppers with feta cheese

Very famous meze in Turkish Cuisine. Serve with warm flat bread (Turkish pide).

5 large red peppers
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup feta cheese
sea salt
black pepper

Preheat the oven. Roast the peppers, until blistered and charred all over, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, then put them in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap and leave to cool.

After, when cool enough to handle, peel skin away from the peppers and pull away the seeds. Cut the peppers into 1/2 inch wide strips. Cut 2 garlic cloves into thin slivers. In a 10 inch saute pan add 6 tablespoons olive oil and garlic. Over medium heat, stir garlic until it starts to turn golden, add red peppers and continue stirring for 2 more minutes, after remove from the heat and add feta cheese, salt and black pepper. Serve, or let stand at room temperature for 1 hour to bring out the flavors.

Tomato salad with goat feta cheese

A favorite healthy salad using vegetables and cheese, make it wonderfully crunchy.

1 pound cherry or pear tomatoes or vine - ripened tomatoes
5 fresh green onions
5 ounces goat feta cheese
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
sea salt
black pepper

if use cherry or pear tomatoes, make halved or use vine - ripened tomatoes skinned and thickly sliced. Fresh green onions, peeled and sliced into wafer thin rings. Put the tomatoes in a serving bowl and add green onions, vinegar, salt, olive oil and black pepper, and let marinate for 8 minutes, tossing occasionally. Then combine the goat feta cheese.

Olive Salad

Very popular salad in southeast Turkey. Very successful combineation of taste.

1/2 cup green olives
1/2 cup black olives
1/2 cup cracked green olives
1/2 cup calamata olives
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
5 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
5 tablespoons chopped green onions
5 tablespoon chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoon olive oils
1/2 juice of lemon
sea salt
black pepper

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and toss again. Leave to stand for 6 minutes before serving for flavors to meld.

Cacık

Cacık is a very popular meze dish in Turkey. It's served as an accompaniment to pastries, meat, rice and bulgur dishes.

1 pound plain yogurt
1 english cucumber or 2 lebanese cucumbers
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon dried mint
1/3 cup finely chopped dill
2 taplespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

Crush the garlic with 1 teaspoon salt. Beat with the yogurt, grated cucumber and herbs in a large bowl and olive oil to taste.